Surprisingly, there is a lot to deduce around the holidays. I actually haven't quite figured out why that is, except for the fact that surprises, spontaneity, and other things of the sort often come into play which just beg to be guessed at beforehand.
Note: This is based on the holidays that I and other people commonly celebrate in the United States. I am not an expert on this, so if there is something I need to take into consideration or a holiday I might have forgotten, please let me know.
1. Gift-Giving Holidays (GGH) of Any Sort (birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah)--Probably some of the best deductions can be made about what, in fact, is inside those beautifully wrapped packages that people give you around the holidays. List #5, Item #9 describes this somewhat.
2. GGH, (continued)--You can also deduce what other peoples' presents are, too, although they may be upset if you spoil the surprise for them. Proceed at your own risk, as always.
3. Halloween, or any holiday that involves costumes--This may be a bit easier or harder, but you can make deductions about people based on their costumes. It can tell you about fictional characters they like, interests in general, career plans, and more.
4. Thanksgiving--Okay, this is fairly easy. What people are thankful for tells you a lot about their personal values. Seems obvious, but people will still probably be impressed.
5. Valentine's Day--I haven't tested this, because I have never had a"Valentine" on Valentine's Day, but you could probably impress said Valentine with deductive reasoning. Of course, you could also make them very mad, and nobody wants to break up on Valentine's Day, so I'm not really sure if this is such a good idea. (And if you're wondering why I've never had a Valentine, that's just because dating's not my thing.)
As always, there may be a sequel to this list.
Signing off,
SM
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Deduction #4--Summer Deductions
Hello, my fellow deductionists! I apologize for the long hiatus, but I was unexpectedly called away to solve various cases across the country. I can't tell you everything due to secrecy and all, but there were rooftops; dark, mysterious buildings; some wild dogs; and red velvet cupcakes involved. (For your information, I love red velvet cookies, cakes, cupcakes, etc. It's the most sophisticated-looking, dark, mysterious cake color there is. A little strawberry frosting, though pink and not at all mysterious, doesn't hurt.)
Anyway, I'm back now with summer-related deductions! I'm definitely writing up "theme" deductions, because there are thousands of individual deductions I could write about and I, like you, have other things to do with my life. Like eating red velvet cupcakes and, well, solving cases.
Please note: I understand that in some places, it is currently winter rather than summer due to geographical location. Also, summer activities may vary from place to place. These are based on my personal experience, and I will add more posts about this later if necessary.
What to Look For
Anyway, I'm back now with summer-related deductions! I'm definitely writing up "theme" deductions, because there are thousands of individual deductions I could write about and I, like you, have other things to do with my life. Like eating red velvet cupcakes and, well, solving cases.
Please note: I understand that in some places, it is currently winter rather than summer due to geographical location. Also, summer activities may vary from place to place. These are based on my personal experience, and I will add more posts about this later if necessary.
What to Look For
- If somebody's hair is a lot lighter than usual, they could spend a lot of time in the sun and/or swim. Chlorine from chlorinated pools sometimes lightens hair. Swimmers may also have wet hair a lot of the time.
- Assuming the school year runs from approx. September-May/June, if somebody is the "right" age for each grade (Not that there's anything wrong with being older or younger, just what people consider to be the "right" age, such as 8 years old for 3rd grade in the U.S.), they may have a birthday in the summer. Well, pretty much any time except for fall or early winter, as they are often put a year back due to having a fall birthday. However, it lets you eliminate a few months.
- If a person has any sand-covered possessions or articles of clothing, they have likely been to the beach. This is also probable if any of their things smell like saltwater.
- You can often tell if somebody has been on vacation if the time zone on a portable device of theirs is set to that of another country and/or they have souvenirs from somewhere. Certainly not an exhaustive list, but that was all I could think of for the time being.
- If you're interested in summer activities, you may want to try looking at Deduction #3.
- If you're a student and you don't get to see your school friends over the summer, I would recommend that you study deduction in your spare time over the summer, then surprise them in the fall with deductions you make about them.
- If you go to a summer camp, a conference, or any other event over the summer where there are a lot of people you don't know, proceed with caution when it comes to deductions. Some people in these situations will not be amused.
SM
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Cases
If you have any cases that you would like me to solve, please let me know. Some guidelines:
Cases That Should Be Submitted
-deductions you've started to make, but need an outside opinion on
-harmless urban legends or rumors to be theorized upon and/or debunked
-science/logic-related questions that I can answer to the best of my ability
-pictures of stuff that you'd like deductions to be made about (Some other bloggers have looked at photos of things like peoples' desks, which seems to be a bit of an invasion of privacy to me but if you want that kind of thing done go ahead.)
-conspiracy theories (This is just for fun.)
-small cases in a school or workplace that an outsider could give ideas on
Cases That Should NOT Be Submitted
-anything the police would normally deal with
-matters of national/global security
-anything involving private personal information, classified government information, or other things that shouldn't be put on the Internet
Please use common sense, and contact legal authorities if there is anything serious going on.
I look forward to getting case submissions, and I will try my best to post solutions on this blog or contact you privately if that is more appropriate. If you only want me to contact you privately, just let me know in the contact.
Signing off,
SM
Cases That Should Be Submitted
-deductions you've started to make, but need an outside opinion on
-harmless urban legends or rumors to be theorized upon and/or debunked
-science/logic-related questions that I can answer to the best of my ability
-pictures of stuff that you'd like deductions to be made about (Some other bloggers have looked at photos of things like peoples' desks, which seems to be a bit of an invasion of privacy to me but if you want that kind of thing done go ahead.)
-conspiracy theories (This is just for fun.)
-small cases in a school or workplace that an outsider could give ideas on
Cases That Should NOT Be Submitted
-anything the police would normally deal with
-matters of national/global security
-anything involving private personal information, classified government information, or other things that shouldn't be put on the Internet
Please use common sense, and contact legal authorities if there is anything serious going on.
I look forward to getting case submissions, and I will try my best to post solutions on this blog or contact you privately if that is more appropriate. If you only want me to contact you privately, just let me know in the contact.
Signing off,
SM
List #5--10 Things You Probably Didn't Realize Had to Do with Deduction
Once I discovered my cool new hobby about a year and a half ago, I started to realize that observation and deduction were present in a lot of things I had done before, and maybe that's why I found it so interesting. Here are some places you may have seen these topics before.
1. Logic word puzzles. No real observation, but a lot of deduction. An easy sample:
Bob, Rosa, and Kim have three cats between them. One cat is black, one is gray, and one is orange. Neither Bob nor Kim has the orange cat, Kim does not have the gray cat, and Rosa does not have the black cat.
2. Venn diagram puzzles. Also a logic puzzle, only sometimes with pictures, so perhaps somewhat observational. I can't really show an example, but there are plenty on the Internet, which you can probably access if you are reading this blog.
3. Mathematical proofs. These are either the best or the worst part of Geometry classes, depending on whom you ask. These are definitely an example of true deductive reasoning; taking a pre-established idea and proving it. (Many of the deductions I write about are actually inductions, but I use the term deduction because it is more common. Also, induction is a type of stove.)
4. I Spy books, Hidden Pictures, etc. These are not really deduction, but observation. You might have liked these as a young child, looking for all the details in a picture. I was addicted. Great training!
5. Blue's Clues. An American show for preschoolers that aired on Nickolodeon in the 2000's, this program taught viewers a bit about how to solve a basic mystery. (click link for more) Though there were more snacks and visits to the talking mailbox than office/desk observation or graphology, this show taught me to connect clues, talk to people involved in a case, and to keep good notes in my handy-dandy notebook.
6. Learning a second (or third, or fourth) language. Whether you're figuring out the genders of words, making connections between words in a new language and your first one, or even just trying to figure out how to read a short article, you will have to find evidence and make connections.
7. Persuasion. I've mentioned persuasion on this blog a couple of times now, and you may have wondered why. Wonder no longer! Persuading people involves reading their body language, understanding what's important to them, and other things that overlap with deduction. You may even need to deduce things about someone before you can persuade them, or persuade people to give you information for your deductions. Whatever the case, it's another great skill to have.
8. Interviews. Interviewers, which can include a lot of different types of people, will generally pay some attention to your body language and clothing, whether it be conscious or subconscious. If you're in somebody's office, you may be able to deduce things about them to help impress them. And, if you're being more interrogated for any reason (which is probably bad, I must say), police and government officials have actual body language training, so you have to be pretty careful. You probably won't be in that situation, though.
9. Opening presents. If you have ever been given presents, they have probably been wrapped. If you haven't received wrapped presents, you should either congratulate your friends and relatives on their environmentally-friendly giving practices, or tell them to add a bit of wrapping (such as reusable cloth or recycled newspaper) to give you more of a challenge. One fun thing to do is to run your hands around your wrapped gifts, shake them a bit, and look at the shape to guess what they are. Be careful, though, as multi-time gift givers may get a bit annoyed and put multiple gifts of yours in rectangular boxes in an attempt to deter you. (You know who you are.)
10. Health classes and babysitting courses. Back in my health class days, I learned a bit about how to tell if somebody has a heart attack, the specific effects of drugs, and stuff like that. So it wasn't totally useless. In a babysitting course (the American Red Cross one), I learned all about how to tell if a room is safe for a young child, how to tell if toys are safe, how to tell if kids aren't feeling well, etc. Some pretty applicable stuff if you ask me. (Safety Note: If you do have reason to believe that any bad things are happening, solve the problem or get the help that you need.)
Hopefully, you have noticed some examples of deduction in your life and have gotten some new ideas. As always, let me know if you have anything you would like to add to this (or any other) lists!
Signing off,
SM
1. Logic word puzzles. No real observation, but a lot of deduction. An easy sample:
Bob, Rosa, and Kim have three cats between them. One cat is black, one is gray, and one is orange. Neither Bob nor Kim has the orange cat, Kim does not have the gray cat, and Rosa does not have the black cat.
2. Venn diagram puzzles. Also a logic puzzle, only sometimes with pictures, so perhaps somewhat observational. I can't really show an example, but there are plenty on the Internet, which you can probably access if you are reading this blog.
3. Mathematical proofs. These are either the best or the worst part of Geometry classes, depending on whom you ask. These are definitely an example of true deductive reasoning; taking a pre-established idea and proving it. (Many of the deductions I write about are actually inductions, but I use the term deduction because it is more common. Also, induction is a type of stove.)
4. I Spy books, Hidden Pictures, etc. These are not really deduction, but observation. You might have liked these as a young child, looking for all the details in a picture. I was addicted. Great training!
5. Blue's Clues. An American show for preschoolers that aired on Nickolodeon in the 2000's, this program taught viewers a bit about how to solve a basic mystery. (click link for more) Though there were more snacks and visits to the talking mailbox than office/desk observation or graphology, this show taught me to connect clues, talk to people involved in a case, and to keep good notes in my handy-dandy notebook.
6. Learning a second (or third, or fourth) language. Whether you're figuring out the genders of words, making connections between words in a new language and your first one, or even just trying to figure out how to read a short article, you will have to find evidence and make connections.
7. Persuasion. I've mentioned persuasion on this blog a couple of times now, and you may have wondered why. Wonder no longer! Persuading people involves reading their body language, understanding what's important to them, and other things that overlap with deduction. You may even need to deduce things about someone before you can persuade them, or persuade people to give you information for your deductions. Whatever the case, it's another great skill to have.
8. Interviews. Interviewers, which can include a lot of different types of people, will generally pay some attention to your body language and clothing, whether it be conscious or subconscious. If you're in somebody's office, you may be able to deduce things about them to help impress them. And, if you're being more interrogated for any reason (which is probably bad, I must say), police and government officials have actual body language training, so you have to be pretty careful. You probably won't be in that situation, though.
9. Opening presents. If you have ever been given presents, they have probably been wrapped. If you haven't received wrapped presents, you should either congratulate your friends and relatives on their environmentally-friendly giving practices, or tell them to add a bit of wrapping (such as reusable cloth or recycled newspaper) to give you more of a challenge. One fun thing to do is to run your hands around your wrapped gifts, shake them a bit, and look at the shape to guess what they are. Be careful, though, as multi-time gift givers may get a bit annoyed and put multiple gifts of yours in rectangular boxes in an attempt to deter you. (You know who you are.)
10. Health classes and babysitting courses. Back in my health class days, I learned a bit about how to tell if somebody has a heart attack, the specific effects of drugs, and stuff like that. So it wasn't totally useless. In a babysitting course (the American Red Cross one), I learned all about how to tell if a room is safe for a young child, how to tell if toys are safe, how to tell if kids aren't feeling well, etc. Some pretty applicable stuff if you ask me. (Safety Note: If you do have reason to believe that any bad things are happening, solve the problem or get the help that you need.)
Hopefully, you have noticed some examples of deduction in your life and have gotten some new ideas. As always, let me know if you have anything you would like to add to this (or any other) lists!
Signing off,
SM
List #4--5 Ways to Impress People with Deduction
Chances are, part of the reason you want to learn deduction is to impress people. Even if that wasn't it, it's fun to freak people out sometimes. Here are 5 ways to do that; use at your own risk. If you think your target will react negatively, don't do it!
1. Attempt to figure out which hand they write with, then ask. It's a really unusual question that most people don't get asked very often. If you were right, then explain your reasoning, if you were wrong, explain your attempted reasoning. People generally find this kind of interesting.
2. Learn how to do one of those card tricks that involves lie detection. This time, don't explain your reasoning. (In the one I know, ask somebody to tell you an obvious truth, then an obvious lie. Note the "tells" that mean they're lying. Ask them to pick a card and remember it. Shuffle the deck, then pick up the cards and ask them questions and stuff, remembering the tells. I've never tried this, but I've seen it done in real life and on this National Geographic show called Brain Games. Seemed cool.)
3. When in a public place with somebody, just observe stuff. Don't even make complicated deductions. Just talk about the world around you. "There's a bird in the dark corner of that roof ornamentation!" "I wonder why that fence is open; obviously nobody is using it because there are no footprints or tracks going through it and it's snowing." People will generally be at least a bit pleased, if not totally impressed.
4. Based on something in somebody's personality, imagine what they were like when they were younger. This is less deductive and more imaginative, but base your ideas on their current actions. Ask them a question about this. It's pretty shocking.
5. Deduce peoples' interests based on their possessions. People will often forget that they are carrying their French book or wearing their lacrosse jacket. Point it out, so they don't think you were following them or anything.
More of these will come as I post more related deductions!
Signing off,
SM
1. Attempt to figure out which hand they write with, then ask. It's a really unusual question that most people don't get asked very often. If you were right, then explain your reasoning, if you were wrong, explain your attempted reasoning. People generally find this kind of interesting.
2. Learn how to do one of those card tricks that involves lie detection. This time, don't explain your reasoning. (In the one I know, ask somebody to tell you an obvious truth, then an obvious lie. Note the "tells" that mean they're lying. Ask them to pick a card and remember it. Shuffle the deck, then pick up the cards and ask them questions and stuff, remembering the tells. I've never tried this, but I've seen it done in real life and on this National Geographic show called Brain Games. Seemed cool.)
3. When in a public place with somebody, just observe stuff. Don't even make complicated deductions. Just talk about the world around you. "There's a bird in the dark corner of that roof ornamentation!" "I wonder why that fence is open; obviously nobody is using it because there are no footprints or tracks going through it and it's snowing." People will generally be at least a bit pleased, if not totally impressed.
4. Based on something in somebody's personality, imagine what they were like when they were younger. This is less deductive and more imaginative, but base your ideas on their current actions. Ask them a question about this. It's pretty shocking.
5. Deduce peoples' interests based on their possessions. People will often forget that they are carrying their French book or wearing their lacrosse jacket. Point it out, so they don't think you were following them or anything.
More of these will come as I post more related deductions!
Signing off,
SM
List #3--10 Reasons to Learn Deduction
Firstly, I'm sorry that the other lists got mixed up...I don't know how that happened! Must be the order in which I posted after copying and pasting some stuff.
Anyway, if anybody asks you why you're doing this, here are 10 reasons.
1. It's fun to impress people with hidden knowledge about them.
2. It's also fun to annoy people with weird questions.
3. You wanted something to put on your college applications/resume. (If you're a student, this impresses nearly everybody. Whether deduction is accepted as a skill on any paperwork like this, I don't know.)
4. It's cool to pretend to be psychic.
5. You actually are psychic, and you don't want anybody to know.
6. It is useful in science, crime scene investigation, etc.
7. You can get to know people better.
8. Deducing things about your surroundings is fun when you're bored.
9. Air travel, train rides, and any other "boring" travel with strangers just got a lot more interesting.
10. Your peers may think you are a genius, even if you aren't that great at anything else.
Signing off,
SM
Anyway, if anybody asks you why you're doing this, here are 10 reasons.
1. It's fun to impress people with hidden knowledge about them.
2. It's also fun to annoy people with weird questions.
3. You wanted something to put on your college applications/resume. (If you're a student, this impresses nearly everybody. Whether deduction is accepted as a skill on any paperwork like this, I don't know.)
4. It's cool to pretend to be psychic.
5. You actually are psychic, and you don't want anybody to know.
6. It is useful in science, crime scene investigation, etc.
7. You can get to know people better.
8. Deducing things about your surroundings is fun when you're bored.
9. Air travel, train rides, and any other "boring" travel with strangers just got a lot more interesting.
10. Your peers may think you are a genius, even if you aren't that great at anything else.
Signing off,
SM
Friday, July 3, 2015
List #1--5 Common Problems and Solutions When Starting in Deduction
This is my first list! It seemed like a good place to start.
5 Common Problems and Solutions When Starting in Deduction
1. Problem: Google, Amazon, etc. always gives you a bunch of results about tax deductions.
Solution: Search for "deductive reasoning" or "logical deduction."
2. Problem: Resources on deductive reasoning focus on dull, boring, formal logic. Which in some uses of the term, it can be.
Solution: Look for specific things, such as things relating to peoples' personal possessions or body language.
3. Problem: Any books at the library about deductive topics are hard to find. (Most searches for the topic, I've found, come up with formal logic books or ANY detective book)
Solution: If you do want to find relevant books, try looking up "body language," and just check around the psychology section in general. Marketing is also sometimes relevant for the persuasive arts, as well as any resource on human communication.
4. Problem: People may sometimes ask if you think you are some kind of detective and tell you to not try anything that's too "out of your depth."
Solution: This is more common if you are a student. In this case, assure the concerned parties that you are not actually solving crimes or putting yourself in dangerous situations, and that you are simply studying a form of behavioral psychology.
5. Problem: People may also assume that the only reason you like deduction is that you're a Sherlock/Psych/[any detective show with deduction] fan. Though that's certainly where many people get their start, it's not the be-all, end-all of deduction. Deduction is not just for detectives!
Solution: Just explain what you're actually doing to anybody curious. They'll probably find it kind of cool.
Signing off,
SM
5 Common Problems and Solutions When Starting in Deduction
1. Problem: Google, Amazon, etc. always gives you a bunch of results about tax deductions.
Solution: Search for "deductive reasoning" or "logical deduction."
2. Problem: Resources on deductive reasoning focus on dull, boring, formal logic. Which in some uses of the term, it can be.
Solution: Look for specific things, such as things relating to peoples' personal possessions or body language.
3. Problem: Any books at the library about deductive topics are hard to find. (Most searches for the topic, I've found, come up with formal logic books or ANY detective book)
Solution: If you do want to find relevant books, try looking up "body language," and just check around the psychology section in general. Marketing is also sometimes relevant for the persuasive arts, as well as any resource on human communication.
4. Problem: People may sometimes ask if you think you are some kind of detective and tell you to not try anything that's too "out of your depth."
Solution: This is more common if you are a student. In this case, assure the concerned parties that you are not actually solving crimes or putting yourself in dangerous situations, and that you are simply studying a form of behavioral psychology.
5. Problem: People may also assume that the only reason you like deduction is that you're a Sherlock/Psych/[any detective show with deduction] fan. Though that's certainly where many people get their start, it's not the be-all, end-all of deduction. Deduction is not just for detectives!
Solution: Just explain what you're actually doing to anybody curious. They'll probably find it kind of cool.
Signing off,
SM
List #2--10 Careers That Use Deductive Reasoning And/Or Persuasion
10 Careers That Use Deductive Reasoning And/Or Persuasion
(note: I'm no career expert, but I once took a course on career investigation and learned a bit about career clusters, some oddly specific jobs in manufacturing, and how to get high scores on free Flash games, so I'm doing my best.)
1. Detective. Yes, as I just said, it's not the only job, but I had to put it there to get it over with.
2. Lawyer. Lawyers actually need to know a lot about law, logic, logical fallacies, etc.
3. Psychiatrist. While all of it may not be deduction, it involves analyzing people a lot.
4. Psychologist. Not necessarily direct observation of people, but learning about them.
5. Girl Scout cookie seller (or other door-to-door salesperson). Figure out if people are home or not by looking at their driveway and house! Look for paw prints in the snow when strolling the neighborhood in the winter! Look at peoples' stick figure families on their minivan windows! Hours of observational fun.
6. Teacher. There's a lot of persuasion and deduction to be done when elementary-age children are involved. How can I get this one child to do their homework? Who did that graffiti? A teacher has to be very observant of students, and a very good persuader, or chaos ensues.
7. Counselor. Kind of like psychiatrist and teacher, only a little less science-y than the former and a little more personally involved than the latter. A counselor learns a lot about peoples' personal lives, and has to know at least a bit about body language.
8. Marketer. For the persuaders. Basically, get people to give you money, or get paid to get people to give somebody else money. Often takes some awareness of what people actually want and other human behavior knowledge.
9. Magician/Psychic Performer. Not everybody knows very much about deduction, and it is the natural reaction of some people to assume that it is actually psychic ability.
10. Anything that involves exploring an office building. The office is often the window to the soul. Gaze upon pictures of employees' pets, or better yet, notice the fur on the inside of their coat and ask "Dog or cat?" when you finally meet them. If you're more of an office-job kind of person, you still have opportunities!
Signing off,
SM
(note: I'm no career expert, but I once took a course on career investigation and learned a bit about career clusters, some oddly specific jobs in manufacturing, and how to get high scores on free Flash games, so I'm doing my best.)
1. Detective. Yes, as I just said, it's not the only job, but I had to put it there to get it over with.
2. Lawyer. Lawyers actually need to know a lot about law, logic, logical fallacies, etc.
3. Psychiatrist. While all of it may not be deduction, it involves analyzing people a lot.
4. Psychologist. Not necessarily direct observation of people, but learning about them.
5. Girl Scout cookie seller (or other door-to-door salesperson). Figure out if people are home or not by looking at their driveway and house! Look for paw prints in the snow when strolling the neighborhood in the winter! Look at peoples' stick figure families on their minivan windows! Hours of observational fun.
6. Teacher. There's a lot of persuasion and deduction to be done when elementary-age children are involved. How can I get this one child to do their homework? Who did that graffiti? A teacher has to be very observant of students, and a very good persuader, or chaos ensues.
7. Counselor. Kind of like psychiatrist and teacher, only a little less science-y than the former and a little more personally involved than the latter. A counselor learns a lot about peoples' personal lives, and has to know at least a bit about body language.
8. Marketer. For the persuaders. Basically, get people to give you money, or get paid to get people to give somebody else money. Often takes some awareness of what people actually want and other human behavior knowledge.
9. Magician/Psychic Performer. Not everybody knows very much about deduction, and it is the natural reaction of some people to assume that it is actually psychic ability.
10. Anything that involves exploring an office building. The office is often the window to the soul. Gaze upon pictures of employees' pets, or better yet, notice the fur on the inside of their coat and ask "Dog or cat?" when you finally meet them. If you're more of an office-job kind of person, you still have opportunities!
Signing off,
SM
Introduction to Lists
After all these serious posts about deduction stuff, I thought I'd add something a little more light-hearted: Lists!!!
Yes, I read clickbait articles from time to time and regularly visit Pinterest. I like making "Top 10 lists" and I find them a good way to communicate a small number of ideas.
Don't take any of the lists too seriously; these are supposed to be lighthearted and there will be some items put there for comedic effect. You'll know which ones these are. I also want to list things that people might be able to relate to in the deduction world. For this reason, I am taking suggestions from readers.
Rules for Suggestions:
1. Nothing that would be inappropriate for anybody under the age of 13. Though the information may be a bit complex for younger readers, this blog is not meant to be obscene or offensive.
2. Anything that has to do with deduction is pretty much accepted. It can include things about resources, experiences, or just more advice that would work well as a list.
I will create most of the lists, but I will take all the suggestions that I can.
Signing off,
SM
Yes, I read clickbait articles from time to time and regularly visit Pinterest. I like making "Top 10 lists" and I find them a good way to communicate a small number of ideas.
Don't take any of the lists too seriously; these are supposed to be lighthearted and there will be some items put there for comedic effect. You'll know which ones these are. I also want to list things that people might be able to relate to in the deduction world. For this reason, I am taking suggestions from readers.
Rules for Suggestions:
1. Nothing that would be inappropriate for anybody under the age of 13. Though the information may be a bit complex for younger readers, this blog is not meant to be obscene or offensive.
2. Anything that has to do with deduction is pretty much accepted. It can include things about resources, experiences, or just more advice that would work well as a list.
I will create most of the lists, but I will take all the suggestions that I can.
Signing off,
SM
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Deduction #3--Activities
Today's deduction is about how to tell what kinds of activities somebody does in their free time. This is kind of in the same vein as "interests," and most of those deductions apply to this too. That post was more about interests regarding things that they like to look at, read, watch, etc., like the color red, triangles, dogs, or the show "Steven Universe." As always, these will go from easiest to hardest.
What to Look For
What to Look For
- As I've said before, listen to people when they talk! With activity interests, these may come into conversation casually, so listen closely. For example, somebody may mention that they have lacrosse practice that afternoon, or that they've been getting ready to perform in a band concert.
- Look at outfits/appearance. This can work on multiple levels.
- More obviously, somebody may be wearing a jacket from their sports team, a t-shirt from a camp, club, or organization, or a uniform of some sort.
- If they play outdoor field sports a lot, they may have mud on their clothes if they play on a natural field. Mud would also be common from mountain biking, hiking, and other sports in natural surroundings.
- If they have recently come from swimming, kayaking, canoeing, or another water sport, they and/or their clothes may be somewhat wet.
- Chalk on clothing or skin suggests rock climbing, gymnastics, or other sports that involve gripping onto things, often indoor.
- Paint, marker, pencil, pen, and other artistic supplies on skin or clothing suggest an artist. Drawings on the skin are common in students and are generally a sign of a creative personality. Notes on the skin show that a person can be forgetful, or more generally, feels a need to have something written on them, which could actually be a number of things. Since people write with their dominant hands, these will be on the opposite arm, wrist, or hand of their dominant one, another way to deduce that. If it is written on the non-dominant appendage, it has most likely been written or drawn by somebody else, perhaps an artistic friend.
- This could also apply to a student or office worker who needs to write things manually. In this case, it will generally be smudges of pencil, pen, or marker. Additionally, writing manually for long periods will cause a large callous to be formed on the middle or ring finger of the dominant hand, as well as some other marks on the thumb and index finger. This is yet another way to deduce dominant hand.
- Musicians can have a variety of different hand callouses based on their instrument. I do not know all of these, and I would suggest that you look this up if you are curious or try to use common sense.
- Look at materials that they have.
- Artists may have sketchbooks; notebooks; a variety of pens, pencils or markers; things that they have made or specific supplies if they have come from a studio or a class; and/or books about art.
- Athletes may have sports equipment; water bottles; duffle bags; string backpacks (easy to carry athletic shoes in); an extra pair of shoes; and/or small, healthy snacks.
- Musicians may have instruments or sheet music.
- People involved in performance arts (theatre, dance, chorus/choir, perhaps rhythmic gymnastics) may have costumes, makeup, special shoes, scripts, hair supplies, sheet music, and other things specific to their art.
- Video gamers may carry handheld consoles or play a lot of games on their touchscreen devices. Of course, most gaming supplies will be left at home.
- People will generally only have their personal interest materials with them during work/school if the activity is part of their job or they are using it in a class. However, students also participate in extra-curricular activities directly after school lets out, and would need to bring their things to school because they do not have time to stop at home between school and the activity. Some of the activities take place at school. But, some people (artists and writers especially) will carry their things (sketchbooks, notebooks) with them if they have chances to work on these projects during their free time between tasks.
- With that in mind--a lot of these things are things that people do at home, outside of work/school. As I mentioned in Deduction #2, people will often wear things that represent their interests, such as a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a treble clef if they like music.
- If you have access to a person's online profiles (Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, Facebook, YouTube, etc.), this may give some insight.
Signing off,
SM
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